Unit 6: The Citizen Leader Flashcards
Consider your own experience of citizens organizing for change. What was the motivation to organize? Of citizens? Of civil society organization? Did the approach to organizing change over time?
I don’t have first hand experience of this but I have studied social movements in my educational journey. The motivation for individuals to organize is often that the issues directly effect their lives. They organize in recognition of shared values and shared oppression.
What kind of leadership is necessary for the different approaches to organize citizens described in your reading?
How does your leadership journey compare to the model of self-directed learning described for citizen leaders?
My own leadership journey has been shaped in alignment with the model of self-directed learning. Much of the learning I have done is a result of reflection and feedback as my leadership skills developed. Like the model for self-directed learning, I was motivated to seek knowledge and build skills for my own personal development and I sought this through informal and formal channels. I attended conferences and meetings, made phone calls, I enrolled in trade school and post-secondary university. In fact, my enrollment in this course and the BPAHSRV is a direct result of my motivation for self-directed learning.
Identify and describe four assets that might be used in the ABCD approach.
Online communities
These are groups of people united through shared values and shared experiences/oppression. Online communities broaden groups from local to global communities. Technological advancements such as social media allow a broader range of people to communicate, share stories, organize for change, and gain knowledge and skills from their own homes across the globe. Online communities therefore have the potential to contain a more diverse range of experiences and perspectives as well as multiple world-views. However, negative sides to technology such as algorithms, AI, and the anonymity of the internet can produce confirmation bias and skewed world views which can have grave consequences for citizen behaviour toward social and environmental issues.
Learning communities
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Empowerment
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Crowd funding
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Crowd funding
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Community builders
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Asset Based Community Development (ABCD)
- What you have not don’t have.
Premise that local assets are the foundation for sustainability. Includes diverse talent, skills, experience, networks, and organizations including Government and businesses that are local and tied to the success of the community initiative.
What exists within the communities and individuals that they can use to grow community life of their choosing.
Recognizes that there are barriers including a focus on deficits. It.
Is a service mindset , not a “fixing/ solution” and is not used to excuse governments.
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Citizen Leaders
- Varied rules in the community that are collaborative and consultative in nature. The leadership is fluid and flexible and membership is open to all.
Leadership development among citizens is self directed and purpose driven (e.g. reading, webinars, formal education etc.). Linked to the issue or cause rather than personal advancement. Empowerment and accountability.
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